The field of the invention is swimming suits and the invention relates more particularly to swimming suits for infants and children from about the age of eighteen months to six years.
It is important for children to learn to swim and this is especially true for children who live around swimming pools, lakes or the ocean. A major problem with teaching children to swim is the discomfort caused by the children being too cold during swimming lessons The process of learning to swim often involves standing in shallow water, or being held in shallow water, while various swimming techniques are taught. Because this process is often not as active as actual swimming, the child often does not generate as much internal heat as he or she is losing and becomes cold and must get out of the water, thereby terminating the swimming lesson.
Although wet suits made from foam rubber material are commonly used for adults to reduce heat loss in the water, such wet suits can inhibit movement, are expensive and are quickly outgrown by a growing child. Furthermore, such wet suits reduce the ability of the child to feel the teacher's hands holding them and can increase anxiety during learning.